Only Ashes
by DesertFlower1
Summary: What happened Halloween night after they burried the files? No, this isn't a scary story...sorry R&R!


**A/N: I just recently bought "That '70s Show" Season Two, and so I thought about writing this little fic since this was the first time I've ever seen the "Halloween" Episode. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own "That '70s Show".**

**Title: Only Ashes**

**Plot: It's late into Halloween night, and two of the gang remembers the exact night the old elementary school burned down. **

"Stolen Sugar babies…" Hyde smiled as he popped one of the tasty treats into his mouth. He stretched for a second, then set the box of candy on the table in front of the couch. The 'fun' of Halloween was over, and thankfully they buried those files.

In the distant he heard something…scratching, was it? It didn't take long for Hyde to realize it was coming from the other side of the door. A cat, probably. Groaning that he had to get up in order to get to the door, Hyde went to shoo away the cat.

Except there was no cat.

There was Jackie…scratching the door?

"What're you doing here?" Hyde asked. He held onto the door handle tightly, no way was she getting in.

"I dunno…I just…" Jackie kept fidgeting with her hands, he noticed. "Being in that school brought back some pretty horrible memories for me…I got scared."

"And so you came here?"

Jackie shrugged and went to step in, but Hyde wouldn't move aside. She was stuck where she was. "Well, my parents are still out at a party, and I don't know where Donna went since she wasn't in her room when I checked."

"Oh, I have a pretty good idea where she went." Hyde answered. He looked back at her, and groaned again. "Alright, come on in."

Jackie smiled and clapped her hands. "Oh thank you, Hyde!"

"Yeah, yeah." He sat in his chair. "But you're not allowed to talk."

Jackie rolled her eyes and settled down on the couch. She watched whatever show Hyde was watching and tried to remain quiet. But she was, after all, Jackie Burkhart. Therefore, it was pretty much a given that she was going to speak sooner or later.

"Wasn't that school creepy tonight?" She asked, looking at Hyde.

"Nope."

"Not even a little bit?"

Hyde rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me you're freaked out over an old elementary school."

Jackie cast her eyes down and started fiddling with the hem of her jacket. "N-no."

Hyde furrowed his eyebrows at her and stared. "You are scared!"

"Am not!" Jackie shot back, glaring at him.

Hyde leaned back in his chair and started laughing. "You're afraid of a school that burned down years ago! You're pathetic!"

"YES!" Jackie shot up, standing in front of him and looking completely freaked out. "Yes! Okay! I'm scared! I'm terrified of that place! I could hardly stand to be in there tonight! Okay, are you happy? Now you can make fun of me and tell everyone that Jackie Burkhart is scared of an elementary school!" She flopped back down on the couch.

Hyde's mouth was open in shock, never had he expected her to jump up like that. Never had he thought that he was right and that she actually was petrified. Sure he had his own faults for hating and maybe shuddering when thought came of that school. But certainly not to this degree. "Hey Jackie, man…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"Whatever, Hyde." Jackie shook her head and looked away. "Go ahead and blackmail me. You know you want to."

Ouch. Was that all he was? Was that the picture he portrayed to the others? That he was nobody but a person out to get them through humiliation of secrets?

"Hyde, I have to ask you something." Jackie went on, looking at him this time. Her brown eyes were looking straight into his gold eyes. Where were the sunglasses tonight? "Were you really out of town the day the school burned, or was that a cover up?"

"Jackie, what're you-"

"Answer the question, Hyde." She forced. "_Did_ _you_ burn down the school?"

Steven was silent for a few seconds before letting out a breath of air. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "There's something you gotta understand about that place."

"Okay…what?"

"It's evil."

Jackie sighed. "Hyde!"

"I'm serious!"

"Fine." Jackie got up, collected her purse and started to leave. "If you don't wanna tell me then fine. But know that as soon as-"

"Jackie, shut up." Hyde groaned. He stood up and walked towards her, only stopping when they were face to face. "You wanna know? Alright, fine. Yes. I did it. I set the school on fire. There, happy? Now bye." He turned and went back to the comfort of his chair.

Jackie stood where she was, staring at him. It was only a few minutes before she was back to talking. "Why?"

Hyde fixed his eyes on the TV and didn't remove them. "You remember what my permanent records said?"

Jackie didn't move.

"Second grade was when I got labeled as a bad kid…and for three years after that my whole grade school career was down the drain…so I got even."

"By burning down a school?" Jackie asked.

"Hey, I have my reasons!" Hyde barked at her. "I had to destroy it. It made my life a living nightmare."

"Okay," Jackie said slowly. "So, you destroyed one thing you hated…but not the other."

Hyde furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What're you talking about?"

"Me." She looked up from watching her hands twist the rings on her fingers. "I was there…I got caught in the fire."

"What?"

Jackie sighed and flopped back down on the couch. "When I was in the fourth grade my teacher had us doing a book report. I stayed after school in the library to get a head start so I could go to a junior cheer camp over the weekend…I guess I must have fell asleep or something, because I only remember smoke…lots of smoke. I could taste it in my sleep."

_A dark haired girl has her head resting on her notebook. All seems peaceful in the library, which is like any other grade school library: books for K-5, a few tables with four chairs, a desk for the librarian. _

_Our nine-year-old Jackie sleeps on as the room fills thickly with black smoke. Soon, as the room becomes darker and darker the young girl awakes, coughing and struggling to see. _

"Anyways, once I woke up I freaked out and started running. But the smoke made it hard to breathe or see." She paused, a far off look on her face. "And then I heard a voice…I couldn't see who it was…but it was a boy…"

"_Jackie! Get down!" A voice yelled. "Get under the smoke!" _

_The brunette dropped to her knees. Whoever instructed her was right! She could breathe again. "Where are you?" She panicked, trying to find the only other person left in the building. _

_There wasn't an answer. Maybe she'd imagined it. She tried again, coughing still. "Where are you?"_

"_I'm behind you, now go!" The voice yelled. It was rough and sounded angry._

_She turned her head to see who it was, but the smoke blocked him from her. _

"_GO!" He sounded alarmed, something was going on._

_Was it just Jackie or was the room getting hotter? She felt sweat drops roll down her forehead and back of her neck. Squinting she could see a glint of orange-ish yellow, a light in the hall? Faster she crawled towards it, determined to make it out of that library in one piece. _

"But he stopped me from going on…"

"_Wait! Not that way!" _

_Jackie stopped just in time as a piece of the roof fell from above and landed just inches from her hands. Jackie shrieked and crawled back towards the boy. She ran into him, nearly knocking him over in the mass confusion. Without thinking she clung to him, griping his t-shirt and burying her face into his chest. _

_A nine-year-old seeking comfort from a ten-year-old…_

_She was too scared to even care to see what he looked like, and she held on strongly to him. He hugged her back. "Don't worry Jackie, I'll get you outta this." He muttered to her. "I'll take care of you."_

_Jackie nodded into his chest and let out a cough. The smoke was getting to her. She could tell it was getting to him as well…he was shaking and there wasn't a second when he wasn't coughing. _

"_C'mon." He grabbed her wrist and pried it off of his clothing. "This way, there's a window over here." He held on as strong as a young boy could. _

"He led me the whole way…far away from the flames…then made sure I went through the window first…" Jackie bit her lip. "I don't remember seeing him come out…I was so tired… …I remember waking up in my bed…I never even got to say thank you."

Hyde said nothing, just kept his eyes averted from hers.

But, as Jackie gazed at him realization dawned on her. She tilted her head slightly, studying him. "It was you…? You were…but…?"

Hyde cleared his throat. "Don't get all 'hero glory' on me."

"But, why were you there? How did you know?"

"Look, Kelso and I went by your house for a bit…but your maid said you were still at the school. That's when I knew, alright?"

"What about Michael?"

Hyde rolled his eyes, "You kiddin'? That idiot was only interested in after school cartoons. I ditched his ass and…"

"You came back?"

Hyde was quiet. "Yeah…I did."

"Why?" Jackie's voice was barely over a whisper.

Hyde looked directly at her, his arms folded in front of his chest and his legs propped on the table. "Because..."

"Because why?" Jackie pressed on.

"Jee, I dunno. To see if you caught fire yet!" Hyde growled. Not his best excuse, but close enough.

Jackie narrowed her eyes and sighed in frustration. "You know what, Hyde? No matter what, you _always_ act like an _asshole_!" She jumped up and grabbed her purse off the couch. She waited for a few seconds, hanging around for an apology from him.

But none came. So, Jackie left, slamming the door behind her.

Hyde didn't remove his eyes from the TV as he whispered, "…Because I didn't want you to get hurt…"

**A/N: Hope you like it! This is only a one shot, so there will be no continuations of this. **


End file.
